


Into the Dark

by pulchraedoloribus



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-03 09:27:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10241573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pulchraedoloribus/pseuds/pulchraedoloribus
Summary: Picking up where season 1 left off. Wynonna, Doc, and Nicole try to figure out what to do about demon Waverly by themselves amidst Dolls' absence. Dark themes.Trying to stay true to canon by what Dom and Kat shared, these characters will be drinking much harder liquor as a result of the plot that takes place. Oh, and some fun stuff too...hopefully





	1. The Barn

**Author's Note:**

> This starts 48 hours after the season finale with some flashbacks/references to the finale. It's a little rough, but I haven't written in a while so I plan to make it better as I go one. Hope you like it

Her chest ached. As much as Nicole would like to blame it on the bullet than came within inches of piercing her skin and left a web of bruising across her chest, she knew that it wasn't the reason why her lungs burned and her throat couldn't seem to lose its lump. It had been forty-eight hours. Forty-eight hours since she had been shot at. Forty-eight hours since she got the phone call saying she wasn't the only one. Forty-eight hours since she was told it was a different sister. That's when she really started having trouble breathing, and she had scarcely slept since. She had just been accepted into the Black Badge Division, thinking she would finally be fighting alongside the Earps to destroy that which was threatening their town. Instead, she had one Earp and the body of another- a body they were now trying to save while destroying the spirit that overtook it. Nicole was exhausted, but she wasn't able to sleep. Not yet. 

After Waverly left with Wynonna to find Willa, Nicole lay unmoving on the floor of the police station, trying to catch her breath. She stared up at the ceiling as her mind ran a mile a minute recounting what had just occurred in such a small amount of time. This wasn't how she anticipated her night to go at all, but then again that was part of the reason why she decided to become a police officer. The mundanity of life wasn't exactly appealing to Nicole. Safe? Sure. But interesting? She preferred a little more surprise to her routine. Still, the nature of surprises are that you didn't ask for them, and you sure as hell didn't see them coming. Tonight, she would have preferred a little more normalcy- to be able to go to a dance with her girlfriend without getting shot by her sister who was hooking up with a local revenant. Too much to ask? In Purgatory, perhaps. But this was home now, and Nicole knew that she was going to have to find a way to get used to it.

Laying on the floor, however, was something that could wait. She needed to get up and moving, and fast. Scooting herself towards a desk, Nicole used the top as leverage to pull herself up. "Ugh," she groaned, pulling an arm tight across her chest. "Can't say that was my best meet the family experience ever."

After pausing a second with one arm leaning against the desk, Nicole had collected herself enough to start walking out to her car. It was time to go home.

As she was starting the engine, she couldn't help but think about what Waverly had said just moments ago- something she was almost sure that Waverly didn't think she heard. All this time, Nicole was convinced that she'd be the one to say it first, but perhaps a gun and the threat of near-death has a way of expediting those sorts of things. They weren't the ideal circumstances to hear the profession of love, but it put a smile on Nicole's face that she was certain would last for the rest of the night, despite the pain that had taken hold in her chest and the worry rattling her brain. Only, it didn't last the rest of the night because then the phone call came, coinciding with the acceleration of her car and a blocking out of all future plans and warm feelings she had been daydreaming about on her way home. Now the only thing that was on Nicole's mind was Waverly and her well-being, and whether she'd ever be able to return the favour saying those three words back to her.

That was two days ago. Now, Nicole found herself pulling up to the homestead once again, only feeling more exhausted and stressed than before.

She pulled the key out of the ignition and made pace to the barn, not knowing what was to greet her when she stepped inside. She knocked three times. "Wynonna?"

Prior to the last couple days, Nicole had scarcely spent any time with Wynonna alone. Now, they rarely left each other's sides for more than a couple hours. In Waverly's absence, Wynonna seemed to have taken her place in the time Nicole was accustomed to sharing with the youngest Earp. Nicole had been looking forward to spending more time with Wynonna after finally being let in on the secret of what really had been going on around Purgatory. This wasn't how Nicole had pictured that time would go.

"Hey." Wynonna was clearly fatigued, slowly drawing open the door with her empty hand while the other nursed a bottle. She stepped to the left of the door, letting Nicole come in and stand beside her.

Nicole placed down the stacks of folders she had in her arms on the table beside her before taking a deep breath. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

Wynonna took a swig before replying. "No. She's been alarmingly calm. I've never known a demon or a Waverly to be so- so not talkative."

"Do you think she- _it_ \- is," Nicole paused, making gestures with her hands, "planning something?"

Wynonna put her bottle on the table a little too aggressively. Its contents surely would have spilled out if she hadn't downed the whole thing already. "An Earp getting possessed and it going smoothly?" she let out a stressed laugh before sighing, "Yeah. When I believe that you can tell me another one."

"Well have you tried saying anything?"

Wynonna rolled her eyes. "To what? The demon? No thanks. I was enjoying my moment of peace while I still had it."

Nicole was starting to get really frustrated with Wynonna's apparent apathy. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What? You're not the one who had a gun pulled on you-"

Nicole glared at Wynonna at the same reason she realized the mistake she was making. "What I meant to say was, I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to just, I don't know, breathe!" Nicole still looked at her disapprovingly, as if her excuse wasn't complete. "Besides, I'm really just on demon duty right now. Doc left shortly after you did. He said he thinks he knows a way we can fix this."

"And that is?" Nicole raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"I don't know," Wynonna admitted. "I'm just hoping he gets back soon. I'm tired of staring at my sister knowing she's not staring back at me."

Neither of them moved. Instead they stared dead ahead at the nightmare that had begun plaguing them over the past couple days. When Nicole first discovered the events that went down that day and was called to the barn, she barged in asking where Waverly was without so much as a hello. Wynonna, having already comet o grips with the reality of the situation, replied that Waverly's body was in the corner, temporarily unconscious. It was an unsettling phrase, 'Waverly's body', but Nicole had grown to realize it was a far more appropriate term than to say it was Waverly over there, wrestling at the restraints and looking at Nicole with pure contempt in her eyes. The soul who pulled a gun on Wynonna was not Waverly, far from it. They just couldn't figure out why.

"We can't keep her out here like this. She'll freeze to death before we can think of a solution," Nicole muttered, eyes still fixed on Waverly.

Wynonna's voice was more rough, monotone even, as if keeping her voice neutral would somehow make this experience more impersonal, less painful to confront. "And you want me to march her up to the police station and ask her to lock her up?" she retorted. "What do you want me to tell Nedley, huh? 'Hey, don't mind us. Oh, Waverly? She's fine. She growls and foams at the mouth when she's tired sometimes. Nothing to be concerned about here.'"

Nicole turned to Wynonna. "No, I know we can't do that. Too many questions. Look, I don't even feel comfortable taking her in to the hospital right now. We can't exactly write this one off as a coyote attack. But we can't keep her chained up inside a barn either. We are going to get this thing out of her and then what? She's going to have enough to deal with as it is, never mind totally avoidable physical wounds as well."

"Well do you have a better solution? Because I'm all ears!"

That's another thing they had done a lot of. Yelling. And even though they'd scream out each other's names, they weren't really yelling at each other. The whole situation was a mess and they were tired and lost. But if they wanted to accomplish anything, they were going to have to get along. Nicole knew that. So she took a deep breath, and continued.

"No," she admitted, sighing as she took up some of the folders from the table beside them. "But I found some of Waverly's notes at the station that may be of some use to us."

Wynonna looked down and read the label on the first folder. "Demon exorcisms?"

"Yeah. It seemed kind of appropriate given the, you know- the situation we have going on here?"

"Nicole you don't just learn how to do an exorcism overnight. We aren't even priests!"

"I know, but if we just try-"

"I'm not the smart one, Nicole! She's over there, being overrun by whatever the hell demon that decided to take her over! This was always Waverly's job!"

Tears. An ignorant man would mistake them for weakness but Nicole was smart enough to know that there was a strength and a fury behind the ones that were building up in Wynonna's eyes. Wynonna was desperate, and her vulnerability had all been brought to the surface in just one moment. Nicole saw it and, despite the frustration that was building up in her, decided to take a deep breath.

"I realize this isn't the ideal solution-"

"No, really?" Wynonna crossed her arms over her chest, still fidgeting.

"-but, what other choice do we really have at the moment?"

Wynonna stared back at Nicole before giving a look of surrender. "Okay, fine. We'll split-"

There was a knock on the barn. "Ladies?"

Wynonna looked back to Nicole. "Doc," she explained, heading for the door. "What took you so long?"

When the door opened, in walked Doc taking his hat off and holding it to my chest. "Well my apologies, Wynonna. It's not a simple day's work to find a friend you haven't spoken to in half a century."

Wynonna grew perplexed. "What?"

"Wynonna, Nicole," Doc began, a smile growing on his face as he stepped away from the door to reveal the figure hiding behind him. "I'd like to introduce you to an old friend of mine. Meet Father James, an ex-exorcist."

 


	2. The Exorcism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: some graphic themes in this chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy and have a great week!

Exorcisms. It's not the first thing that came to mind when Wynonna thought of demons, but this case was different. Truthfully, she was much more comfortable with a gun than a bottle of holy water and a cross and, so far, the gun had served her well. However, despite having a barrel pointed at her head, Wynonna couldn't fathom the idea of shooting her sister, not Waverly. Even if it was possible to shoot and only kill the demon, it wasn't a risk Wynonna was willing to take. There had to be other options. She, alongside Doc and Nicole, wracked their brains for safer alternatives. It seemed that Wynonna was the only one who hadn't thought to consult an exorcist, possibly the only other type of person who had dealt with demons as much as she. Everything was happening so fast and none of it was anything Wynonna wanted to confront but what other option did she have? So, despite her gut reaction, Wynonna wasn't in a position to deny Doc's old friend entry. However, a lack of objection didn't mean a lack of healthy suspicion.

The man that stood at the door was what Wynonna imaged Doc would look like if he had been more refined. He was clean cut, wearing an outdated suit with a priestly collar underneath. _Must've been Catholic_ , Wynonna thought to herself as he entered the barn.

Father James shut the door behind himself, making his way over to Wynonna and Nicole so that he was standing right in front of them. He gave them a once over, laughing quietly at their stunned expressions staring back, before saying, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"An ex-exorcist?" Wynonna exclaimed and looked at Doc, seeming almost disappointed.

"Well, he hasn't practiced in over fifty years so I suppose you could say he's just been on a terribly long leave." Doc took a drag before killing his blunt.

"Oh how I've missed it," the man remarked, cradling a Bible that Wynonna just realized he had.

"If you missed it so damn much, why did you stop? Something keep you busy every waking moment this past half-century?"

"Not to be harsh, but I'm not exactly in the business of making friends, Ms. Earp. Generally speaking, demonic beings aren't so susceptible to needing help ridding their friends from a fellow demon."

Wynonna shrugged. "Huh."

Nicole broke her silence in a tone of desperation. "So you'll help us?"

Father James nodded. "I shall see to do that which I can. Now where is she?"

Nicole look to Wynonna who sighed deeply before uncrossing her arms and stepping to the side so that Father James had a direct view to the corner of the barn where Waverly was situated. "Over here. I know she may seem normal, but she also tried to pull a gun on me only a couple days ago so don't let that innocent face fool ya."

Perhaps the most frightening part of the situation they were in was that Waverly looked _exactly_ like the Waverly they were used to seeing. She still had the same blue eyes and warm cheeks. She had the same smile. She had the same expression on her face she'd have when she would cry, when she was angry, when she smiled. She could display all these same emotions without letting out even the slightest hint that she wasn't the person behind those actions. The only difference between this Waverly and the one they knew was this one didn't have those emotions. This one didn't have a perky voice. This one didn't have charisma or intelligence. Instead, this thing that had taken over Waverly used everything that Waverly had, everything that Waverly was, and manipulated it at every chance it got. So, it really came to no surprise that when Father James approached Waverly and looked her in the eyes for the first time, he looked back at Wynonna and Waverly in surprise with an expression that almost questioned their decision to have her chained.

"Well, while I do realize it has been a while, I simply cannot recall ever meeting a demon with such tranquil composure," Father James observed, crouching down to be eye-level with Waverly's form.

"You might have thought differently if she had a gun in her hands," Wynonna mumbled.

"There, there, Wynonna. No need to scold him. He's not doubting you, now are you James?" Doc offered.

"Of course, not, no. Demons are smart creatures, though I'm all the wiser. Perhaps this calm is another ploy in deception. That isn't unheard of. In fact, it's a rather common form of introduction," Father James assured. "Now if there aren't any objections..?"

Father James turned around, glancing from Doc to Wynonna to Nicole before turning back to Waverly and flipping open his book of prayers as he pulled a cross out from his coat jacket. "Let's begin."

Father James began reciting prayers, mumbling them almost under his breath in a language that seemed foreign to both Wynonna and Nicole. "Does he even know what he's doing?" Wynonna whispered to Doc, seeming to grow more anxious and impatient as time went on.

"Relax, Wynonna," Doc soothed. "He's merely speaking in the Roman tongue. The man spent his entire lifetime doing this sort of thing. He'll have Waverly back with us in due time. Just be patient."

But Wynonna couldn't be patient. That was her baby sister chained up there, being manipulated by some demonic being that threatened the well-being of everyone around them. She already was forced to make enough harsh decisions for a lifetime, and Wynonna swore to herself that  Willa would be the last family member she shot. It was too much for a soul to carry. She didn't need anyone to tell her what to do or how to feel. She needed her sister back. She had left her once before. She wasn't about to do it again.

After a few minutes of recitation, Father James finally spoke something that they all could understand. "God, whose nature is forever merciful and forgiving, please accept our prayer that this servant of yours, bound by the fetters of sin, may be pardoned by your loving kindness."

Father James closed his book and then turned to Wynonna, handing her his cross and Bible. "Hold these, will you dear? Thank you."

Wynonna was visibly uncomfortable, holding the objects in her hands as if they were foreign as she looked onward with Nicole and Doc to the interaction between Father James and Waverly. 

Nicole looked on with a look of confusion. "Something isn't right," she whispered, looking to Doc and Wynonna. Doc, whose expression was grave, seemed to have come to the same conclusion Nicole had. Wynonna, caught up in her anxiety, remained oblivious and panicked.

"What do you mean?" Wynonna stressed.

"She's way too calm still. A demon would be writhing at pain at this point."

The priest was flicking holy water at Waverly but she didn't even budge. Instead, she looked rather bored. "I'm telling you, this isn't going to work, Father. I'm not possessed. I realize that's what possessed people say but it's true. I'll let you carry out the rest of this prayer you have going on, but could you speed it up a little? My arms are getting tired from being restrained for so long."

 _God, it even rambled like Waverly_. Wynonna was infuriated.

Father James didn't even hesitate. Proceeding as if Waverly hadn't uttered a single word, he said, "Depart then, impious one. Depart, accursed one. Depart with all your deceits, for God has willed than man should be his temple."

He stepped back as everyone looked on, expecting some violent reaction in which the demon would flee Waverly's body. A few moments passed before they realized nothing was going to happen. Waverly simply stared right back at them, as calm as before, looking almost arrogant in her expression. "I told you guys. Not possessed. Now will you untie me?" She nudged her head to the bindings that were wrapped tightly around her wrists and ankles.

"Unbelievable," Wynonna muttered, making pace towards the priest.

"I don't know what hap-"

"Here, take your damn crap and get out," she said, shoving the bible and crucifix into his arms.

"Wynonna-" Doc began.

"No," she said firmly. "Take your friend and get out. I need a moment to think."

Doc nodded, knowing there was no use in arguing. "I'll see you out, James."

The door shut quietly behind them, leaving Wynonna and Nicole alone with Waverly. Wynonna was pacing. Waverly was staring. Nicole was bracing for the blow out. Before she could stop her, Wynonna was suddenly too close to Waverly.

"What the hell are you, demon?!" she yelled in Waverly's face. Waverly simply cowered, beginning to cry.

"I'm your sister Waverly. Why can't you see that?"

Wynonna slapped her. "Don't you _dare_ speak her name again! What are you? Tell me!"

Wynonna was raging at this point, throwing blow after blow at Waverly until Nicole was finally able to restrain her and pull her back.

"Let me go, Nicole," she growled.

"Wynonna. _Wynonna_. _Breathe_." Nicole felt Wynonna relax into her, beginning to calm down despite still holding clenched fists. "I think it's time for you to take your break. I'll take first shift."

Nicole let go of her, and WYnonna immediately stormed off, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Fine. But so help me if you dare let that thing go-"

Nicole turned to her. "Wynonna, I got it," she reassured. "Go get some rest."

And so Wynonna relented, slamming the barn door shut leaving Nicole face to face with her greatest nightmare.

* * *

 The two sat in silence for quite some time after Nicole refused to have a conversation and that thing that was possessing Waverly relented. However, the demon started to stir and, despite Nicole's refusal, insisted on talking.

"Nicole, why are you letting them do this to me?" she whined, sobbing slightly.

Nicole was exhausted. She hadn't eaten all day and hadn't slept even longer. It was six hours into her shift watching Waverly. In five more, her shift at the station would begin. Nicole was a very patient person, but given the circumstances, she had no time for negotiating with the devil. "You know exactly why."

"Baby, you've got to get these chains off me. C'mon, it's me. Can't you see that?" Tears were forming in her eyes now. Ones that were crushing Nicole's soul, making her feel ridden with guilt until suddenly that guilt turned to anger.

"You're not Waverly," Nicole fumed through clenched teeth.

This took the other one off guard, leaving a shocked expression on the face of Waverly. "How could you possibly think that? The exorcism didn't work, Nicole. Why? Because I'm not possessed. If I'm not possessed, how could I be anyone other than Waverly? Look at me!"

Nicole had had it. She got up, slamming down the folder of paperwork she had been reviewing. "How? You want to know how I know? Because Waverly wouldn't lie to me. _Waverly_ wouldn't insult my intelligence."

"But I haven't." It tried to play innocent with her but Nicole was at her breaking point. Not only was she physically and mentally exhausted, but she was being tormented with the knowledge that Waverly was trapped inside her own body and this demon was manipulating the situation at Waverly's expense. It was one thing to insult and harm her. But torture Waverly? Drive Wynonna further into the ground? Nicole wouldn't have it.

"When I moved to this town and started work at the station, not a week went by without some strange occurrence happening," Nicole begins, trying to feign control. "At first, I dismissed them. Freak accidents happen everywhere. But then I started realizing their frequency, and it all started piling up until, at some point, these easily explained 'incidents' became unexplainable. Coyotes don't cleanly sever a man's head off. Wolves don't leave bullet holes in their victims. Girls don't just get kidnapped by Jack the Ripper and leave walking. I knew something was up, something that people weren't telling me. So I investigated and started putting the pieces together myself. And even though her lips were sealed, _even though_ she couldn't tell me a word about it, Waverly never, _not once_ , told me I was crazy and dismissed my concerns. Not once. So don't you _dare_ think for one second that Waverly would try to turn down my suspicions using one of the most pathetic logical fallacies known to man."

Nicole stayed where she was in the same position that she pulled Wynonna out of, face-to-face with the demon itself. She was livid, and her body shook with anger until suddenly, she grew frozen. Something had changed in Waverly's expression. Once innocent and submissive, now cunning and blood-thirsty. "Well would you look at that! Seems I underestimated you. Seems Waverly underestimated you. I mean, after all, that is where I'm getting all my information from. You do have a functioning brain in there. According to my data, you're probably the sharpest person Waverly ever dated. My apologies, Ms. Haught."

Nicole clenched her jaw. "Who are you?"

"Who I am isn't of importance, dear. It's who I'm not. And yes, you're clever. You and Wynonna both. On an average person, my ploy would have worked marvelously. A demon receiving an exorcism and not trembling in the presence of a crucifix? Puzzling indeed."

Every muscle in Nicole's body was flexed. Her voice grew calmer, but lower and more stern. "What do you want?"

"Well, you could start by taking off these restraints. They are terribly- restricting."

"That's the whole point," Nicole quipped.

"I want my time with Wynonna. Alone. Have a little sister to sister chat."

"Not a chance in hell."

"Okay! Suit yourself!" she chirped sweetly, sending shivers up and down Nicole's spine.

 _It can't be that easy_ , Nicole thought to herself. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I don't think it really needs an explanation, deary. But if you so insist," she drew out with wild eyes, mechanically making Waverly come to her knees. "When there's something I want, I don't like to wait. One way or another, I'm going to get it."

Nicole cringed, hearing a rendition of her own words repeated back at her for a far less worthy goal. "I won't let you."

"We'll see about that. I have a way of convincing people," she smirked, leaning in closer to Nicole so that she need only whisper. "Now let's play a little game. You've heard of Mercy before, right?"

Nicole gulped. "I'll die before you-"

"Oh, no dear. It's not like that," the demon quickly reassured. "I put a little personal twist on this game. So here's how it works. I play my little game and when you're ready to stop and give me what I want, you yell mercy. Got it?" Nicole stared her down, unmoving and highly cautious for what was about to come next. "Excellent! Let's begin!"

Before Nicole had a chance to take another breath, the demon started contorting Waverly's body until her left arm popped out of its socket, grinding against bone as the demon continued to move. Nicole was horrified and audibly gasped, reaching forward to get it to stop. But it wouldn't.

"Ah, ah, ah," it hissed. "You know the rules."

Waverly's dislocated shoulder provided the room the demon needed to wrap Waverly's arm around her head, pulling the rope they had used to restrain her with it until it was snug tight around her neck like a noose. 

"No!" Nicole gasped, wrestling with the rope to pull it loose to no avail. The demon only pulled tighter, drawing blood as Waverly's face grew purple.

Nicole started thrashing. "Let her go! Please! Dammit!"

She started crying as she raged, feeling more helpless and guilty as she realized she was about to make her first deal with the devil. "Okay, mercy! Mercy! _MERCY_!"

It let go of the grip it held on the rope, and Waverly's arm fell to her side limply. Nicole looked away quickly, unable to look at the sight for long as her shaky fingers called Wynonna's cell.

"Now what is it you think you're doing?"

Nicole ignored the voice. Instead, she spoke in a tone of desperation into the phone. "Wynonna? It's Nicole. You need to get to the barn, fast!"

The demon laughed. "I told you I always get what I want," she smirked. "You better hope she listens and comes fast. Remember, I don't like to wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Hope you are enjoying it so far. Feedback is always much appreciated so don't be shy. Is anyone else wondering how they are going to survive the rest of this hiatus???


	3. Sage Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna struggles to sleep, turning instead to her sister's research to gain some insight on to how to solve this demon problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't figured it out already, there's gonna be dark themes in practically every chapter. This one is no different. Happier times are to come though

Since Wynonna was twelve, she had a hard time sleeping at night. Nightmares mostly, but anxieties too that came with the guilt she carried around with her at all times. Being locked up for killing your father will do that kind of thing to your sleeping habits. So really, it was no surprise that after a few hours of tossing and turning, Wynonna had finally given up on the idea of sleep and decided to take a seat at the kitchen table to start sorting through the file Nicole had found.

Even though she had reluctantly given in to Nicole's idea of taking a break to calm down and let go of some of the rage that had built up inside her, Wynonna couldn't help but clench her jaw upon reading the word 'exorcism' scripted on the first page. She quickly flipped through them, having absolutely no desire to read about the process and validity behind the ritual that had just failed her sister and everyone who cared about her. "High success rate my ass," she grumbled, appearing to awaken a fatigued Doc Holliday who had been lying on the living room floor with his hat covering his face.

"Sorry," Wynonna whispered as Doc approached the kitchen. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I couldn't-"

"Sleep. I know. I heard you tossin' all night. You didn't wake me." Wynonna was about to reply when Doc continued, leaving her mouth gaping open. "I only got up because I fancied myself a drink."

Sure enough, Doc was popping off the top of another bottle of liquor, one of a dozen he alone had consumed in the past forty-eight hours.

Wynonna gave a sympathetic smile before returning to the folder. This whole situation was affecting her deeply for obvious reasons, but she hadn't thought to think of how it all must be affecting him too while she was caught up in her own distresses. Besides knowing her sister was being tormented and feeling completely helpless as to how to solve the problem, she had just lost her partner whom she had grown accustomed to leaning on for support in situations as tense as these. For the longest time, Wynonna had resolved to depend on no one but herself. She didn't need to ask anyone for help, thank you very much. But then she came back to where her nightmares began and, although she desperately tried to fight it, came to realize there were people out there who, without her even needing to say a word, would come along and help without counting a debt in return. And now, the one person who recognized her value and pushed her to do better was gone, leaving Wynonna to rake through piles of paperwork and fight unknown evils alone. After scanning a few pages more, something had caught her eye."Hey, check this out," Wynonna beckoned Doc to come closer, tracing a line of Waverly's notes with her finger. "Possible alternatives to exorcism: (Peacemaker), salt, amulets, crystals, sage."

"Your sister is remarkably thorough in her research," Doc noted, standing over Wynonna's shoulder.

"Yeah, but maybe a bit naive?" Wynonna looked up at him before returning her concentration to the words in front of her. "What are we supposed to do with sage besides make a tasty meal for that _thing_ to muzzle on?"

Doc took a swig before setting his bottle down. "It's not for cooking, Ms. Earp, " Doc drawled. "You burn it."

"Are demons afraid of good smells or something?" Sarcasm. She'd been using that as a crutch almost as much as alcohol these days.

"Sage comes from the Latin word salvere meaning 'to save'. It was common practice in Europe before your time to burn sage to rid homes of evil spirits, to save people," he explained. "Your sister may have been on to-"

And that's when Wynonna's phone rang, rendering Doc silent. Wynonna immediately got up from her chair, running her fingers through her hair anxiously before shoving her phone back into her pocket and heading to the kitchen cabinets and rummaging through them.

Doc looked puzzled, motioning the bottle in his hand to her phone. "Who was-"

"Do you have your lighter?" Wynonna asked hurriedly, grabbing her coat and sliding on shoes.

Doc was still confused, barely managing to keep up. "In my pocket, what-"

"It was Nicole. Something happened. We need to go."

They hurried out the door, folding their arms to brace their bodies from the cold of the night. "Time to see if you were right, Waves."

* * *

 

Under normal circumstances, it would be rather ill-advised to begin lighting fires in a room filled with straw if one wanted to see positive results, which perhaps is why Nicole's expression came under a look of horror when, upon telling Wynonna and Doc what had happened, Wynonna thrust her hand in the chest pocket of Doc's coat and began lighting an herb on fire.

"What are you doing? I don't understand why you-" Nicole began, going through every scenario in her head of how this could possibly go wrong as she made strides to unsuccessfully stop her. "Doc, c'mon! Aren't you going to help me-"

"Hey asshole!" Wynonna ignored her, making pace towards Waverly's form, which was hesitantly paused from its earlier proud stance. "Know what this is?"

"Oh, I don't see how this ends well," Doc groaned, noting the sparks that were trailing Wynonna and threatening to capsize the barn in its entirety. "I should have mentioned burning sage was traditionally done with a stick."

Wynonna wasn't paying mind to a word anyone else was saying though. She was to preoccupied with the trembling thing in front of her. "Is that-" it began shakily, starting to cower in the corner as Wynonna drew closer.

"Yeah, it's sage," she began. "Both literally and metaphorically because this was pretty damn smart, " Wynnonna grinned, feeling slightly more confident before the sage started burning down, bringing the flames to her palm. "Ah, shit." Wynonna turned around, "Guys, a little help here!"

Nicole rushed over, helping Wynonna to pull more sage out of her pocket and feed the fire. "What are you going to do with all of this?"

The demon continued to crawl backwards until it bumped into the wall, effectively cornered between Nicole and Wynonna. "I'm going to get my sister back," Wynonna growled between clenched teeth before blowing the smoke in Waverly's direction. "Go to hell, asshole!"

Despite the confidence she had projected, Wynonna was skeptical of such a simple ritual from ignorant hands effectively ridding the evil spirit that had taken hold of Waverly. Yet, after holding their breath for a few moments, the three started to notice a black figure rather distinct from the smoke begin seeping out from Waverly's form and into the air. It peeled away, like if Peter Pan's shadow were reluctant to leave. Waverly's body raised off the ground along with it before the shadow disappeared into the dark of the night. Once its entirety appeared to be gone, Waverly collapsed. Wynonna screamed.

"Shit shit shit!" she cursed, diverting her attention from her sister only because flames were now licking at her skin.

Nicole looked between Wynonna and Doc. "Please tell me one of you brought water?" They both stared back at her with guilt. "Looks like I'm-"

Too late. Wynonna couldn't take it anymore, dropping the burning sage to the ground, sending sparks to hay. "Dude, what were you-"

Wynonna cut Nicole off by effectively stomping the fire out. "Relax, Nicole. I'm not unnecessarily reckless."

Nicole laughed, feeling the tension in her shoulders began to subside as she recognized that familiar teasing she hadn't heard from Wynonna since this whole ordeal started. "Oh yeah, because bringing fire into a house full of hay isn't-"

"Uh, ladies?" Doc began, crouched beside Waverly. "I don't mean to interrupt your joyful banter but I think we have a problem here."

Instantly, all the stresses that had just left their bodies moments before re-entered them. Wynonna mentally cursed herself for believing things would resolve themselves so smoothly. Nicole rushed over behind Wynonna, who put a hand to Waverly's back. She turned to Nicole who had an expression of questioning. "She's not breathing." Nicole began to bring a hand to her herself when Wynonna yelled out again. "She's not breathing!"

"Okay, let's flip her over," Nicole said calmly, trying to treat Waverly as any other person to whom she'd answered a 911 call to from as far back as her days as an EMT. They turned her body over and Nicole, trying not to look at her face, began administering CPR to Waverly as calmly as she could. "C'mon," she muttered as she began doing chest compressions, keeping time with her watch.

Nicole had learned from a young age the skill of tuning out. She learned it when she started playing sports by tuning out the shouts in the stands. She learned it when her parents fought as she hummed herself to sleep. She learned it when trying to study while the subway roared outside her bedroom. She learned it when she was harassed at school before being different. She learned it in the little moments and used it in life's hardest ones when everything was telling her to break down and feed into the noise. But she couldn't stop now. She had to focus. So perhaps that's why she didn't notice when Wynonna got up and began pacing, frantically crying out in desperation. Or how Doc followed her and tried to calm her down. Or how the two of them began arguing back and forth about whether it was advisable to call an ambulance. _What would they say? What about the questions they would be asked?_ Nicole heard none of it.

"C'mon Waves. Help me out here," Nicole thrust her hands out two more times before tilting Waverly's head back, trying to open her lungs with a breath. "Breathe! Breathe for me, Waverly. C'mon."

Nicole had only ever lost one person before, and she could not fathom to think about experiencing again that feeling of making several last compressions to a body whose soul she knew was long gone. She pushed it from her mind with every thrust to Waverley's chest, begging all that was good in this universe to spare her from experiencing that pain again. She bit hard on her lip, fighting tears. A few compressions later and Waverly let out a small cough before she began dry heaving. Wynonna and Doc spun around upon hearing the sound.

"Alright, there you go. On your side," Nicole soothed, mostly to herself to calm herself down as she helped Waverly to her side as she kept coughing amid struggling to breathe. "You're okay, baby. Just breathe."

Nicole pulled Waverly's hair away from her face was she spit up a mix of blood and vomit. "Alright, you're alright," she continued, gently rubbing her back as Wynonna crouched down beside them.

"Should I bring her water or something," Doc began, feeling oddly helpless and out of place as he stood on and watched the mess.

"No, it's okay," Nicole replied, knowing Wynonna was too shaken up to say much of anything that made coherent sense at the moment. "We should bring her into the house once she has herself collected. We'll get her settled then."

Nicole waited until Doc nodded before turning back to Waverly and Wynonna. She had stopped coughing now, still awkwardly holding herself up with her uninjured arm as she tried to calm her ragged breath. "You okay, baby girl?" Wynonna asked through tears, not yet able to meet Waverly's eyes.

Too weak to look up, Waverly simply shook her head. Nicole and Wynonna began to hear quiet sobbing. 

Nicole looked to Wynonna before realizing she was going to have to take action, despite how lost she herself felt. "Wave, we need to get you into the house before you can rest. You're going to need to help us get you there, okay?"

Waverly grunted something Nicole assumed to mean she agreed. First, she turned to Doc. "We're going to meet you back into the house. While we get Waverly situated, I need you to get me a first aid kit and some water and meet us in her room, okay?"

Doc tipped his hat. "Yes, ma'am."

"Wynonna?" Nicole asked, trying to get her attention.

"Screw just water," Wynonna said, wiping her eyes. "My sister deserves some alcohol after the night we just had. Shit, we all do."

Nicole grinned, glad to see Wynonna coming to. "You heard the lady, Doc."

"I'm on it," he assured, making his way out of the barn.

Nicole then turned to Waverly, who had collapsed back on her side. "I'm going to carry you in, okay?"

"Okay," she croaked, sending an odd mix of relief and pain to both Wynonna and Nicole upon hearing how weak she sounded. 

"Okay," Nicole affirmed. "Put your right arm around my neck and just hold your left to your chest. It's going to hurt, but don't try to move it, okay?"

Waverly nodded, bracing as Nicole helped her to sit and situated her arm. "Okay, are you ready?"

"Mmhmmm," Waverly managed through clenched teeth. Nicole took a deep breath before standing up, lifting Waverly as she went.

"Wynonna, you got the doors and the light," she said, feeling Waverly settle into her arms. "Time to bring your sister home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! As always, I love hearing from you guys so feedback or really any comment is always appreciated!
> 
> For those still reading, who is super hyped that season 2 is set to come out in June??? I can barely contain myself, in case you couldn't tell ;)


	4. Back in Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May or may not be further inspired after that trailer... This chapter is a little rough and all over the place- please forgive me. Update is a little shorter but hope you enjoy nevertheless :)

Wynonna slept in a chair by Waverly's bed that first night, too worried that she'd be taken away from her again to leave. Nicole didn't have that option though. She still had her shift at the station. She may have been promoted to BBD, but the night was taken from them too fast and Dolls never had the chance to make it official. Nicole's boss, technically, was still Nedley, who had a whole stack of paperwork waiting for her when she came in that morning regarding all the chaos that had happened over a sad case of poisoned bubbly.

Nicole was admittedly distracted and tired too, so perhaps it was best that she was stuck at a desk rather than patrolling the streets. She would only ever get a few papers deep before either nodding off or gaining flashbacks from what had happened earlier that morning.

Once they had brought Waverly inside, it was Nicole and Wynonna's job to clean Waverly up and address her wounds. They helped her strip of everything but her undergarments and helped her into the tub to clean her body of the surface dirt and bile; a through shower could wait until they all had gotten some sleep. As she was washing off, Nicole could already see the bruise forming around her shoulder, accompanied by heavy swelling. Knowing how much her shoulder was already inflamed made it all the more harder for Nicole knowing she would have to pop it back in place.

 _On the count of three_ , she had told her, only she applied the necessary pressure right after uttering one. Waverly groaned. Nicole and Wynonna winced. They all drank. And sometime after that, after watching the rise and fall of Waverly's chest begin to slow as she fell asleep, Nicole bade goodbye to Wynonna and headed home just long enough to clean up for her shift.

She looked like death. Dark rings under her eyes and a yellowish tint to her skin. At least her uniform could cover up the ugly bruise that seemed to gain new shades of colour every time Nicole had the chance to look at it. She rubbed her fingers across the webbing. _Bad idea_ , Nicole thought, feeling more and more grateful that it was a paperwork day. She withdrew her hand from her shirt, returning back to the pile in front of her.

The reports were all over the place. Most of them, Nicole knew, would be dismissed in courts to a far lesser sentence due to the nature of the poison and the widespread volume of victims. Still, she had to make sure all the charges were properly filed and summons recorded so as to avoid the nagging of Nedly. The motion became repetitive, and, a few hours into it, Nicole had just about fallen asleep again when she came across something that sparked her attention

"Ah," she whispered to herself, smiling. "Nothing like adding a misdemeanor to the file of Champ Hardy to make you feel a little better. _Drunk and Disorderly?_ 'That's disgusting'!" she mocked.

* * *

 

After a much needed sleep, Wynonna had spent the days following Waverly's rescue throwing herself into her work when not harassing Waverly to make sure she was okay. Nicole would assist her in her office when she could, though much of her time was spent dealing with the crime that had occurred the night of the party. That left Wynonna alone most of the time, interrupted every so often by Doc who was busy running the ground operation, trying to get intel on all occurrences one couldn't simply ask any local resident about.

So far, she had come across little in the way of helping her figure out what had happened with Waverly, and how o get Dolls back. The first thing she had tried was calling. First Dolls, then Dolls' boss. Then she gave up after leaving voicemail after voicemail. For once, she would appreciate receiving a task that could be accomplished somewhat seamlessly. Perhaps that was too much to ask though.

Most of Wynonna's research on Waverly came directly from research already done by Waverly herself. After all, Waverly had done impeccable research on the revenants, on Wyatt's curse. However, that was precisely the problem. It seemed, whatever it was they were experiencing with Waverly and the black goo, it was all new- something their ancestors weren't faced with in this capacity. There was file after file on humans, on revenants. But not a single one could tell Wynonna what the black goo was, and why she encountered a monstrous snake with the Ghost River Triangle.

It was weird for Wynonna- being behind a desk and digging up files. She started to appreciate more and more what it was that Waverly had been doing all these years. Sure, it was incredibly valuable but _god_ was it exhausting. Wynonna needed a break. She needed to go out there and do something, punch something, shoot something. At least Doc got to go out there and do something, even if he was just about as lost for answers as she was. She had joined him a few times, sure, questioning people at Shorty's and trying to contact more of his friends that had turned up from a previous life. But it seemed to her that most of her time these days was spent pent up in this office, reaching dead end after dead end. All this pent up energy rested in her shoulders, and it was the first thing Doc noted when he walked into the room, twirling a pistol around his finger.

"Somebody is a little tense," Doc noted.

"All of this reading is making my head spin," Wynonna growled, flipping the book she was reading shut. "And I'm getting nowhere! I need to talk to people. Like real people Face to face. I'm much better at doing that than- whatever the hell it is I was supposed to be doing." Wynonna kicked up her feet, drawing in a deep breath. "God, I just want to feel something, you know? I need to get out there again. I need to fire Peacemaker again!" she whined.

"Now there's no use shooting Peacemaker when you haven't found the devil you're meant to be shooting," Doc began, ignoring Wynonna's expression that seemed to suggest she was about to protest. "Though I am not one to deny a lady a good old afternoon of target practice."

Wynonna smirked, letting the frustration in her face and shoulders subside. "What do you have in mind, Doc?"

"I guess you'll just have to follow me and find out."

* * *

They were wrong. Waverly knew that. But she felt wrong too, knowing how disturbed she should feel about the situation, yet it feeling so good. She wasn't possessed. She was transformed. And no priest or handful of sage could counteract that. What that monster had done was more than destroy her. It strengthened her far beyond any measure any of them thought was possible. But Wynonna needn't know that yet. 

Waverly was certifiably self-taught in almost all aspects of her life. Perhaps that was atypical for a youngest child, but when you spend most of your growing up years with your oldest sister presumed dead, your father evidently so, and your other sister taken so far away that she might as well be, you tend to figure things out on your own. Learn how to drive a car? Read a driver's manual. Want to learn self-defense? There's a book for that. Need to figure out how to break your family's curse? Get researching. There were some questions in life that were faster answered if you took up to finding those answers on your own. Other times, the questions were ones you simply didn't want to ask. Like does that person really love me? Or, better phrased, are you really my father?

Finding answers and spending hours on end reading and researching was much easier when no one was looking for her, when no one was concerned about her whereabouts. But ever since the incident, Waverly scarcely got a moment to herself when someone wasn't checking to make sure she was okay, or rather, to make sure she was still herself.

"Hey," Wynonna offered, leaning against the doorframe of Waverly's bedroom. "I'm heading out. Do you need anything?"

"Both my legs and at least one of my arms still works," Waverly noted. "I think I'll be able to take care of myself if I need something."

"But if you need something-"

"I'll be sure to fein helplessness and call my helicopter parent of a sister," Waverly cut her off, raising her eyebrows with a pointed look.

Wynonna grinned, raising her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'm going. But if you need me-"

" _Wynonna_!"

"I'm gone, I'm leaving! Love you, sis!" Wynonna bantered, disappearing from view.

"Love you!" Waverly's voice faded out. "Sis..."

She tossed her pen back on her desk. She didn't want to think about it. But then again, all she could think about these days were things she absolutely did not want to think about. It's what kept her mind going all day, racing with questions and theories, and it's what kept her up all night, drowning screams into pillows for fear of someone hearing her.

It was when Wynonna would leave that Waverly did most of her researching. It's amazing how many certificates Waverly had acquired over the years. Honour Role, self defense, Bachelor's degree, CPR, Geography Bee champion, death certificates... But of all the certificates and scraps of her history that had come into her possession, she never received the paper she always wanted most. The one piece of paper that could serve as validation of the identity she formed her entirely life around- an Earp birth certificate with her name on it.

_Screw that. I don't need some gun when I have-_

No, she needed to focus. Preparing what was coming for them was far more important than some insignificant piece of paper. Sure, Wynonna along with everyone else had given her the past for the next few weeks. "Take your time." "I'm here if you need anything." Only, she knew they couldn't possibly be there for anything with everything else that was going on. Dolls, the curse, the monster...

It was all too much and truthfully, none of them had time. Not that Waverly wanted them to wait on her anyway. In fact, she was growing rather irritated with everybody's automatic instinct to shield her from everything. She wasn't that six year old girl anymore. She was independent, strong. And, despite their good intentions, she didn't need anybody babysitting her. She had work to do.

 Waverly got up from her chair, throwing her journal and some manilla folders into her bag. What she was looking for would be hard to find on the internet and in her sister's scant book collection. She needed to head to the station. Getting there, however, was going to be a task in and of itself.

Despite her growing frustration with Wynonna's insistence on helping her with just about everything, the whole issue of getting dressed and driving was one she had come to appreciate after doing without. A sling held her left arm in place, rendering it just about useless except for holding things. As a result, putting on shirts and jackets became a sort of awkwardly choreographed dance. After a few moments of struggling, however, Waverly manage to slip her right arm through the sleeve of her coat and toss the other side over her left shoulder. Not wanting to be bothered with any more tasks necessitating two hands, she voted on slippers for shoes and walked out of the house with a bag over her right shoulder and a pair of keys in her hand.

One might think driving one-handed would be a problem, particularly given the unpredictable nature of other drivers. However, given Purgatory's small population, needing to act fast and dodge an accident wasn't really on Waverly's mind of concerns. Not, that is, until an old Ford came recklessly sweeping across the street, threatening to t-bone Waverly's jeep. She slammed on her breaks and whipped her car over to the side as her head jolted forward and smashed into the top of her steering wheel.

"Ow, _god_ that hurt," Waverly grunted, bringing a hand up to her face as she felt a trace of moisture begin forming under her nose.

As she tried to settle herself, Waverly looked up to see if they had even stopped, but saw no trace of them. Instead, she saw a familiar head of red hair jogging over to her with a face of concern. "Oh great," she mumbled to herself, "Another reason for them to fuss."

She wiped the blood from her nose, hoping Nicole wouldn't notice as she approached her car. Waverly opened the door to step out.

"Hey, what-"

"Nicole, I'm fine," Waverly dismissed. "Just some asshole not paying attention it's-"

Nicole was paying no mind to her explanation. Instead, she stared back at her with caution, gesturing to her nose. "Waverly..."

"What?" Waverly panicked, wiping the back of her hand to her nose again and checking to see just how much blood ended up on it. However, what she saw was not blood. It was black. Black goo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I can't function with that season 2 trailer like can June 9th come faster please???!!!! I have so many theories and moments I need people to fangirl over with so feel free to hit me up on twitter (@waverlyreyes) or tumblr (@thatswhatihad) and let me know AO3 sent ya.
> 
> As always, thanks for your amazing support. I'm sorry for the longish waits between uploads. Between school, work, and other obligations, I have little time to write during the week so I appreciate your patience. Your comments keep me motivated :)


	5. Legion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly finds out what has happened to her, and it's not a demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing too exciting in this chapter. My mind's been a little preoccupied, so I'm sorry for the declining quality. Please, if you have any suggestions, be sure to leave me a comment. 
> 
> Alright, I'll stop now to avoid any rambling. Enjoy :)

There are levels of anger. Frustration, irritability, exasperation, rage. This was none of these. This was hate.

"I told you to leave me alone!"

Waverly swung around, throwing a hook up into the other woman's jaw, fuming as she staggered backwards. The voices in her head enticed her further.

"Waverly..." Nicole began, bringing a hand up to her lip  to wipe away the blood that had already started trailing down her chin. She paused for a moment, taken aback by how quickly things had escalated. Just a minute ago she was having a conversation with Waverly and now this? She held her other hand out in front of her, hoping to put some distance between the two of them as Waverly didn't seem to be backing down. "Please, you don't want to do this. Let's just-"

It didn't matter though. Waverly was already gone. Something was fueling her anger and demanded that she escalate. It started off as a whisper, then a taunt, until now it was an unshakable force. A whisper that once felt like one now seemed to be a chant belonging to many. She couldn't ignore it. The sling around her arm seemed to have loosened, hanging like a scarf around her neck. She took two strides towards Nicole, knocking down her arm she was holding up and crossing a hook to her cheek, kneeing her in the gut as she reflexively drew inward. Blood fell on the office floor. Waverly struck her chest. Nicole gasped for air. "I am so sick of people telling me what to do! Does it look like I can't take care of myself?" She hit her again. "Huh!?"

Nicole collected herself enough to straighten back up and look Waverly in the eye, but what she saw was not someone she knew to love. It was back again, that seething hatred inside her that coloured her eyes black and her soul darker. But there was a hesitance this time, and her lip trembled, and her eyes scanned back and forth as if looking for answers in Nicole's eyes. That was it. That was Waverly in there.

"Waverly, please," Nicole begged, tears forming her eyes not from the pain, but rather from the image of Waverly in front of her. She didn't want to hurt her. She didn't want to restrain her. But she was starting to make a scene and-

Too late. They had already attracted attention. "Woah, there..."

Doc came out from the office with his hands raised, followed by-

"Waverly, what the hell!"

-Wynonna. It was the three of them again against Waverly. A familiar discomfort. But Waverly was too clouded to remember how this ended the time before, so she made her move, with nothing holding her back.

It all happened so fast. First Waverly made a lunge at Wynonna, giving Nicole the opportunity to grab her from behind, restraining her to her knees. And then Doc... Waverly couldn't quite remember that part. It all came in flashes. The pinch on her neck. The numbness that followed. The smell of blood. A tight grip around her biceps. Sweat, dripping down her face. A twinge of guilt. And a voice, running in frantically from down the hall.

"Nicole, now what is all your hollerin- What is going on here!?"

The footsteps stopped, but Waverly couldn't see anything. Nicole's voice though, she could hear that, the tone vibrating from behind her ear. "Mama Joan, it's-"

"Wynonna, see her out of here," Doc urged."

"C'mon, Mrs. Hafferty. It's all under control. Waverly was just having a seizure, side effects from the bubbly.."

She blacked out after that, waking up to find herself in Dolls' office, lying down on a couch being overlooked by three figures bickering.

* * *

"We have to go back to doing shifts. She can't be left at the house alone." Wynonna was pacing back and forth, snapping her fingers as she contemplated what to do next. She had been bickering with Nicole ever since Doc had Waverly properly sedated. They had little time before she awoke, and they didn't know what temperament she'd awake with.

"What so we're supposed to go back to what we did in the barn? No, sorry. It's not happening. That's not even remotely legal. Waverly isn't some animal to be chai-"

"That's not Waverly, Nicole! We can't have an incident like this again! She can't be left by herself."

Nicole was exasperated, replying through clenched teeth. "She wasn't alone when this happened, Wynonna! I was there. I- I set her off..."

"Now ladies, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. There is an abundance of possible explanations for what-" Doc tried to soothe, but it was no use. Wynonna only grew more irritated, entering his personal space now.

"Cut the crap, Doc. You know what you saw. That was not-"

"Waverly..."

It was Nicole who brought attention to the fact that, amidst their bickering, Waverly had come to again. The three all turned their heads in her direction with a look of apprehension as Waverly sat up. She waited for someone to say something or do something beyond look at her with a sense of fear but received nothing more than troubled glances. Her stomach began to turn."I- I should go."

"No, Waverly-" Nicole protested as Waverly got up, but was quickly dismissed. Waverly had already made up her mind. She needed some air. She needed some time alone, away from any mentions of her name and what was to be done about her. If she heard any more of it, she was certain another incident would occur, and she didn't want to be sedated again.

"No. I'm going. We could all benefit from some distance right now," she declared, grabbing her coat from the hanger. "Don't try to follow me."

"Wave-" Wynonna sighed, throwing out an arm half-heartedly to stop her, but knowing her sister well enough to know that it would do nothing.

Waverly acknowledged her before she went out the door, pursing her lips in a failed attempt at a reassuring smile. "I'll call you by sunset."

And then she was gone. No one tried stopping her. Not this time.

* * *

The reservoir. That's where she went, opting to walk rather than drive in order to give herself more time to clear her head. It was her go to place in times of intense emotions. It's where she went after the funeral for her  dad and Willa. It's where she went when all the loneliness caught up with her and her attempts to convince Wynonna to come back just once, at least for a visit, were rejected time and time again. It's where she went when she desired counsel she could not receive about what she was meant to do with this life. And it's where she went now, so lost with who she was and who she had become that she had nowhere else to turn.

She remembered the first time she went there. It was a time of loneliness and rejection. Wynonna was gone again, kept locked away in St. Victoria's. Contact with her was scarce, and Gus discouraged any attempt Waverly made to reach out. _She's trouble_ , she'd tell her. _You're doing better on your own_. Only she wasn't. She had lost all sense of herself. With the stigma that came with her last name, friends were hard to come by, and she was reminded of it every day. To pass the time, she sat with her books and made friends with historical characters and ancient languages. It was a way to cope when she was a child. Then, somewhere along the way, it transformed, becoming the fuel for her mission to find answers and reclaim her life. She came to know her past here, and with it she found a fragment of peace.

Perhaps it was the fresh air or maybe the notion of purifying water that, whether or not she left the place with any answers, always left Waverly with a better sense of calm and relief than when she had arrived. For a moment, she just sat their on a sturdy branch that leaned just over the edge of the bank and watched the stream rush down the riverbed, billowing over rocks and broken branches. It was powerful, but not lacking in control- a state Waverly so desperately desired at that moment but felt helplessly unable to attain. What had happened to her?

She took a stone from the bank's edge and, with a snap of her wrist, skipped the stone down the lake, watching it disappear into the horizon. Willa had learned how to skip stones from their father, and she taught Wynonna, but Waverly learned from neither of them. Instead, she learned from an elementary survival guide in its small section on wilderness games. But it didn't matter where she learned it, right? Just that she learned it. She tossed another stone.

Once Waverly found stability with the steady and predictable rhythm of the stream, she pulled out her phone and notebook to find some answers. She went from one google search to the next, exploring every database she could get her hands down and scrawling the information in her little leather-bound journal. Most of it sent her in circles, revealing the same information she had read a thousand times before about overly-simplistic theories that simply did not match the complexity of the war that was going on inside her. She kept meeting dead ends, and Waverly began to worry she wouldn't find the lead she was looking for before the sun set over Purgatory. She was about to give up for the night, call the Homestead and continue her research at home when suddenly she came across a scripture passage that caught her eye. "For Jesus had said to him 'Come out of this man you impure spirit!' Then Jesus asked him 'What is your name?' 'My name is Legion,' he replied, 'for we are many.'"

"That's it!"

Waverly wrote one word in her notebook before closing it and returning it to her coat sleeve. _Legion_.

She hopped off the tree branch and began making her way home. With the sunset on the horizon, she sighed a breath of relief, allowing herself to smile so slightly and so briefly as she dialed a familiar tone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late and short chapter. I had a bit of a stressful weekend between school, work, and a stressful doctor's appointment. I have another appointment this week to I expect to be equally exhausting sot he next chapter may be out a bit late too, however I'll do my best.
> 
> As always, thanks for your lovely comments. They are, without a doubt, my favourite emails to receive :)
> 
> P.S.  
> Is it bad that I've already rewatched Wynonna Earp in its entirety for the umpteenth time on Netflix? SO FREAKIN HYPED FOR SEASON 2


	6. Shovel Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain officer picks up Waverly from the reservoir. A fight ensues over their talking, or lack thereof. Wynonna has a shovel. Drama happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually really impressed with myself that I got a chapter out this week. There's not much in the way of plot here, but I thought there was some necessary character building that needed to occur first. Next chapter, much more plot. Hope you enjoy :)

It was Nicole who picked up her up that night. They stopped at the diner on the way home to grab a bite to eat, though Waverly found it hard to stomach much of anything. Nicole didn't push her, despite knowing something was up and so desperately wanting to talk it through with her. Waverly wanted some space, she could tell, and she was okay with that- at least for the night.

Nicole ordered a burger and Waverly toyed with her chips, picking them up on accession though not really eating any of them. A lot was on Waverly's mind, and although she was enjoying some time away from everything, she desperately wanted to get back home so she could continue with her research. She needed to feel part of the team again and do something productive to help everyone else instead of always being the one being helped. She had grown so used to fighting for attention and recognition growing up that now, with a constant spotlight on her (although not for positive reasons), Waverly felt increasingly uncomfortable. She was grateful that Nicole ignored the fact, at least verbally, that she was acting rather bizarre and quite un-Waverly.

"The sunset was beautiful tonight. You must've had a good view from where you were sitting," Nicole commented, trying to start a non-threatening conversation.

Waverly glanced up from the chips she had been zoning out on, dropping one back into the basket as she acknowledged Nicole. "Yeah, it uh- it was really peaceful out there."

"Unlike the rest of town," Nicole said far too quickly, regretting the words immediately as the slipped out of her mouth. Waverly noticed, returning to her tense state.

"I'm done," Nicole recovered, trying to change the subject as she tossed a serviette onto her plate. She wanted to have this conversation, truthfully, but not here for nosy ears to drop in on. "You ready to head back?"

Waverly sighed. "Yeah. We should probably go. It's getting late."

People tended to avoid staying out too long after dark in Purgatory. The locals had been well-conditioned to fear the darkness and what lived in the woods. Coyote attacks had claimed far too many lives for many to justify the idea of a quiet, late night walk. Instead, people stayed in packs and left most of their outdoor and venturing activities to the daytime. The most vulnerable members of the population often vowed to avoid night at all, heading home by sunset with the idea that those four walls would keep them safe from the mysterious disturbances that had been occurring more frequently over the past year.

Waverly, of course, knew it was all one great cover up to protect the reputation of the town. It's far more honourable to release a statement saying deaths occurred within the border due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances than it is to attribute death to human error. So, truthfully, Waverly didn't fear the dark; she loathed it. Still, like most other residents, she too avoided late nights alone, not for her own safety, but for that of her aunt and everyone else back at town that she felt the need to protect. To this day, being taken from their home by Carl, leaving Gus to bleed out on their porch, was one of the hardest moments of her life. And then, to come back and hear her neighbours whisper about the tragedy of the attack of her Uncle and countless others by something less than the deeply twisted darkness of demons only made her feel that much more sick. These dark, demonic things had destroyed the lives of so many, and she hated them, not understanding how someone could get to be that way. But now, she was the darkness. She was the one hurting the ones she loved. Should she be hating herself now too?

Waverly had a lot of those dark moments, truthfully, and a lot of dark thoughts as a result. There were things she had imagined herself doing when the pressure to be the person everyone wants her to be became to much. They'd be surprised to know that, the town. All the people who thought she was just happy go lucky 'Waverly'. But the truth was she was battling her own demons, shoving them deep down inside for no one else to know about. And in her head she battled them, dreaming up things she would do if not for what was expected of her. But she never thought she could actually do it, would actually do it. But people have a way of surprising themselves.

It started as soon as she got out of her car. Nicole, naturally worried and prepared for the worst, chased after Waverly with a stream of questions of caution.  _Waverly, what is going on_ , she said.  _We should probably get this checked out. Waverly. Waverly!_

But Waverly met her questions only with requests for her to stop as she made pace down the sidewalk and into the station, hoping she'd back off. Unfortunately for Nicole, she persisted.  _Waverly, will you please slow down I'm worr_ \- Only Nicole didn't get to finish her sentence, Waverly remembered, because something snapped inside her at that moment. Something-

"Wave."

A soft voice took her attention away from her thoughts. She blinked several times, bringing herself to reality before turning to the direction of the noise. _Nicole. Of course._ "Huh, yeah?" She noticed Nicole had parked the car.

Nicole seemed to be ready to get out with her hand on the handle, but she slowly changed her mind, dropping the hand and turning to face Waverly. "Where did you go there?" she asked gently.

"Nowhere, nothing," Waverly dismissed, making motions with her hands. "Just zoned out. Tired, ya know." She feigned a smile.

 Nicole nodded her head, making it rather apparent to Waverly that she wasn't buying it and she was done ignoring the elephant in the room. "What's going on?" Nicole placed a hand on Waverly's knee, but Waverly jumped back, pressing herself against the car window as if to try to put the most distance between the two of them. Nicole's brows furrowed with concern, causing Waverly to wince. She hadn't meant to react so strongly, but she couldn't ignore the issue now.

"I'm just really sleep deprived," she lied, "And being out in the dark alone like this kind of gives me the creeps."

"Bullshit," Nicole called her out. 

Waverly uncrossed her arms, reaching for her own door handle this time as she sighed. "Look, can we talk about this tomorrow. I really do need to get some rest and-"

"You mean stay up all night ruminating over whatever the hell is on your mind right now and has you so jumpy? Because, you know, you refuse to talk to anyone about what is going on because god forbid you started telling the truth," Nicole quipped, growing frustrated but still keeping her temper.

Waverly got teary-eyed, anger quivering in her lip. "Excuse me?" she said, barely above a whisper.

"This has been hard on all of us, Waverly. You don't know this, but every night since the winter solstice, Wynonna, Doc, and I have all been talking amongst one another trying to figure out what is going on with you and how to best help you. And you know what we keep coming back to? You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. You can't figure out what's wrong when the other person refuses to talk," Nicole began, trying to keep her emotions in check as her eyes grew clouded. "We love you, Waverly, and we want to be there for you and help you out. But you have to open up and let someone in. If not me, then Wynonna or Doc. Someone who has your best interest at heart. I wanted to give you your space, Waverly. But you can't shut everyone out for the rest of your life."

Nicole's chin was quivering now as she locked her jaw and tried to keep from crying the tears that had been building up over the past several days. Waverly found herself in a similar position, looking upwards in a failed attempt to keep her tears from dropping. "But you don't know what's going on inside me right now."

Nicole sighed. "Exactly, Waverly. I have no idea! And every time I try to ask you, you push me out," she exasperated.

Waverly shook her head. Nicole wasn't getting it. "And what if I tell you and you learn the truth, and the truth is too ugly, too terrible for you to bear?"

The tension left Nicole's face. Instead, her expression turned earnest and controlled. "I might be new to all of this, Waves, but I am not new to the battle of fighting demons. All darkness is powerless unless it infiltrates your heart and mind. It starts there. I've known some ugly demons, of my own and of my enemies and of people I have loved. A lot of them really tore me apart, broke me in places at times. But there's only one I've never been able to work through," Nicole confessed. "And that is deceit. You can't reconcile with falsehoods. You can't make amends based on a lie."

Waverly was no longer able to keep it together at this point, but Nicole's concentrated calmness remained. "Lies can be comfortable and walls can keep you safe. But they're isolating and lethal to the soul." Nicole's tone cut like ice. "So maybe you need some comfort right now that none of us are able to provide so you have to look elsewhere. I get it. But this isn't the answer, Waverly. And if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a liar."

Nicole pulled her key out of the ignition, pausing to stare into her lap for a moment before taking a deep breath. "You can stay here if you want, though you'll probably freeze in a few minutes, but I'm going inside," Nicole remarked when Waverly clearly had nothing else to say. She stepped out of the police cruiser, shutting the door firmly without slamming it and walked towards the homestead. In light of the recent events, she had been camping out their to be another man in case a situation arose. Waverly sighed, taking a moment to collect herself and dry her tears before joining Nicole back inside. She didn't talk to her though. Instead, she headed straight for her bedroom.

On her way up, she ran into Wynonna. "Sorry," she mumbled, attempting to make her way past when Wynonna stopped her.

"Hey, what's wrong, baby girl?" she asked, holding Waverly around her upper arms with two firm hands. "Why are you crying? Did Nicole-"

Waverly stopped her, noting the anger that was building up through tight lines in Wynonna's lips. "No, it was nothing. Just really dry and windy out there so my eyes started watering. Nothing happened," Waverly faked a smile for the hundredth time that night.

Wynonna stared her down, raising her eyebrows as she wasn't buying it. But she let her go anyway, noting Waverly's desperation to go to bed. "Okay... Well if you later decide it was something, I'm here to talk."

Waverly nodded.

"Okay. Goodnight, Wave."

Waverly simply smiled, not trusting her voice to say anything more that night. When she went into her bedroom, she skipped turning on the light as she stripped herself of her clothes and tucked herself into bed. From darkness back to darkness. She lied down, staring up at the ceiling. Nicole was right. The nightmares had already started.

* * *

"What the hell did you do to my baby sister?"

Nicole turned around to find a very angry Wynonna, who had just stormed into the living room where Nicole slept, holding a shovel. "What are you doing with that?"

"It's for you, if you don't start talking."

"Not now, Wynonna."

"No, you don't get to decide that," Wynonna snapped. "You make her cry, you answer to me. I don't care what time it is. I don't care if you need sleep. I don't care if you have other things to do. You should've thought about that before you made her cry."

"We are grown adults, Wynonna. We had an argument. Nobody was hurt, nobody was yelling. We just argued. It happens. Get over it." Nicole lied back down, pulling a blanket over her shoulder.

"Get over it? You know I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what the hell you said to her that got her all worked up like that." Wynonna crossed her arms.

"Fine!" Nicole exclaimed, raising her voice in frustration. "I called her out for keeping secrets from us, okay? She didn't like it, I told her I don't like liars, and that was that. You happy now?"

"You did what?"

"I told her she needs to start talking if she ever wants anything to get better." Nicole's brows were now furrowed with anger

"You don't get to tell her what to-"

"I didn't tell her to do anything, Wynonna. But I couldn't sit back here any longer and not let her know that we care about her and we need her to start talking to someone. What's so bad about that?"

"She needs time, Nicole. You can't just pressure someone into talking about things they aren't ready to talk about. Waverly needs-"

"You know what I think Waverly needs? I think Waverly needs people in her life that aren't going to treat her like she's made of glass. I think Waverly needs someone to tell her that no matter how ugly the truth is, she's going to have someone by her side who's not going to abandon her. Someone who's not going to decide for her what is best for her and walk out and leave." Nicole huffed, her chest rising and falling rapidly from a mix of anger and adrenaline for finally having said what had been bottling up inside her since she moved to Purgatory.

"Fuck you," was all Wynonna could say, turning her back to go to her room, but she stopped halfway to let out a final thought. "You know, I love my sister, and I've been around a lot longer than you have. You don't know the first thing about what you're talking about."

"Oh, no, Wynonna. I think I do," Nicole said cooly. "I know you love Waverly. Everyone does. But everyone also has their own selfish motivations and blind spots. Everyone has places in their life where they can't seem to move on from. And you are so stuck in the past with her. You haven't forgiven yourself from leaving her yet. So you baby her and try to shelter her from the world, being ever so attentive, as if that will erase the years from when you left and take away the pain she has already endured. It's too late, Wynonna. It's already happened. You can't change it. The question is, what are you willing to do now?"

Wynonna bit her cheeks in a sense of discomfort with hearing the truth. "Well I guess you have all the answers, don't you?" She threw her hands up in the air. "You best hope you're right. I suppose that means you don't have to apologize to my sister then, huh? Let me know how that works out for you."

Nicole watched as Wynonna left the room, knowing better than to say anything more. Once she was out of sight, Nicole threw her head back on the couch cushion, bring a hand up to her face as she tried to wipe away the stress. She sighed. _The Earps will be the death of me_.

* * *

 Nicole had thought about what Wynonna had said. Despite her good intentions, she had reasoned that perhaps she had approached it in the wrong way last night with both sisters. She shouldn't have raised her voice with Wynonna. Her grandfather had always gotten on her for her temper growing up. He told her it would get her into a lot of trouble. He was right. She regretted that. She didn't like tension, and she definitely didn't want to leave Wynonna angry and hurt.

And Waverly. Maybe she had messed that up too. The truth hurts some times, so tears aren't unreasonable. But she didn't need to be so harsh about it. She could have eased into the conversation. She could have been gentler. She could have exercised more control. Maybe if she had, she wouldn't have made Waverly cry. Who knows what she thought of her now...

Nicole was certain of one thing- she had some apologies to make, starting with Wynonna.

She gave a few raps on her bedroom door that was already open. "Hey."

Wynonna barely moved her head to look to see who was at her door. "Not now, Nicole," she mocked.

Nicole sighed. She deserved it. "Look, I'm not here to fight. I wanted to apologize. I thought about what you said and-"

"You realized what an asshole you were," Wynonna finished. "Awesome. I'm glad you've come to realize your own stupidity. Now if that's all-"

"Yes, Wynonna, I was a total asshole, and I'm sorry. Look, I want to figure this all out as much as you do. I've just been going about it all the wrong way. I didn't mean to hurt the few people that are actually on my side in all of this."

Wynonna nodded. "Yeah, well you screwed that one up."

"I know. And I'm sorry."

Wynonna stared at her for a minute, allowing herself to sit in Nicole's distress for just a moment longer. "Alright, fine. I'll forgive you," she remarked. "But not until you fix things with my baby sister."

Nicole smiled. "Trust me, I plan to," she sighed with relief. "Thank you, Wynonna."

Nicole began to make her way out the door when Wynonna's voice stopped her. "Oh and Nicole?"

She turned around. "Yeah?"

"If you ever, and I mean ever, hurt my baby sister again-"

"It'll be my ass, I know."

"Oh, it will be a whole lot more than that if I have it my way," Wynonna glared in all seriousness.

Nicole gulped. "Understood," she managed before making her way to Waverly's bedroom. Seeking Wynonna's forgiveness went a lot easier than she thought. Now Waverly on the other hand? The thought of it had Nicole's palms sweaty. She exhaled deeply. _Okay, here goes nothing_ , she thought to herself as she tapped Waverly's door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always, if you have any recommendations on the story, blogs to follow, or anything you want to say in general, please leave me a comment! You guys are seriously the best. I'm so grateful for our awesome community of Earpers.
> 
> Question of the week: anyone going to DragonCon? It looks like it's gonna be awesome!


	7. Third Wheeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone interrupts Nicole and Waverly, and it's not another Earp for once

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update. I've been dealing with a lot of medical things on top of finals and work, so I haven't had much time to think about anything else. This isn't much, but I thought I'd put something out. Give it a go if you'd like

Nicole had only rapped once on the door before it was swinging open, causing both Nicole and Waverly to startle.

"Sorry," Waverly said after collecting herself, still holding onto the doorframe. "I was about to go find you, actually. Uh, come in."

She motioned towards her bed, waiting for Nicole to step in before closing her door. Waverly sat back down on her bed, sitting on one leg while the other hung over her bed. Nicole stood at the end of the bed, unsure of the situation. It took a few moments of her talking herself into making the first move in her head before Nicole finally spoke. "Look, Waves, about earlier-"

Nicole looked up to make eye-contact with Waverly, only she wasn't looking back at her. Instead, her line of vision ghosted just over her shoulder. "Waves, are you even listening?"

Waverly slowly got up from her bed, keeping her frame stiff. "Nicole, don't move."

"Waverly..." Nicole moved a hand to her holster.

"There's something," Waverly muttered, slowly creeping forwards, "in the hall."

Nicole now realised what she must be staring at- the hallway mirror. "Waverly, don't you even think about-"

"I need you to trust me," Waverly kept her voice low, allowing herself to make eye contact with Nicole for just one second, "and cover my back."

Nicole breathed in in cautious hesitation. 

"Nicole..."

She relented. "Just one?"

Waverly nodded.

Nicole motioned with her fingers, mouthing "Go."

As soon as Waverly made her first step into the hall, any sense of preserving the silence was gone. Instead, the object of Waverly's caution whipped around, facing the both of them. The shadowed figure was a man, or at least he was at some point. Now he boasted red eyes and a broken gait that left him favouring his left side. Neither of the women recognised him.

"Ah, just the girl I've been looking for," he began, sauntering towards the two of them.

"Normal people call or knock when they're looking for someone," Waverly quipped, her anger seeping through in her tone and body language as she clenched her fists by her side. "They don't just come barging in without a word."

"Waverly..."Nicole cautioned, trying to put herself between the two of them. Waverly denied her access though, raising one arm between her and the revenant and another on Nicole's waist, pushing her back.

"I told you to have my back, remember?" she said so low only Nicole could make out what she was saying.

Nicole relented, resuming her previous position and scanning the area. Waverly returned her attention back to the revenant. "And why have you been looking for me?"

He took one great stride, closing the distance between the two of them so that his lips were only an inch away from her ear. "I've been sent to deliver a message," he sneered, tucking a strand of hair behind Waverly's ear with his grimy fingers. "And offer a warning," he added with a smack of his lips, trying to taunt the smaller one.

"Which is?" Waverly countered without the slightest trace of a quiver in her voice.

He began laughing. "Wait," he began, taking a step back so that he could look at Waverly in her entirety. "You thought I was just going to give it up like that?" He began laughing again. "Little girl, I thought you were the smart one, and yet you have so much to learn."

Nicole stepped to the side so that she covered only Waverly's right shoulder after feeling comfortable that there was no one else in the house. Not yet, anyway.

"What do you want?" Waverly grunted.

"Well if your little friend here would find herself in some other occupation, I think my actions will more than suffice in answering that question for you."

Nicole saw it- the way he looked her over like she was some piece of meat for his consumption, an object at his disposal to do with as he pleased. She wasn't having any of it. "If you so much as look at her like that again I swear I will end you," Nicole growled through her teeth, getting up in the man's face and seeing for the first time the glow of hell in a revenant's eyes.

He laughed. "I'd like to see you try! The only gun that can keep me away is-"

"What the hell is going on out here-hey!" Wynonna stepped out of her bedroom, hair a mess and peacemaker in her hand, pointed towards the ceiling haphazardly before her brain caught up with the situation in front of her. Then, she tightened her hold on the gun, pointing it straight at the revenant's head. "What the hell are you doing in my house?"

Waverly could see he was about to start up again on his dramatic speech and decided to save everyone the hassle of having to hear ignorance echo through the hallway. "He's delivering a message from some source he refuses to disclose without some payment in return."

"Listen asshole, we aren't giving you anything. This is how it's going to work. We ask you to tell us everything you know, and you do it. Got it?"

"Oo, someone is acting a whole lot more confident than they truly are!" he taunted.

"That's it," Wynonna muttered. Before the revenant realised what had happened, Wynonna slid her leg across to break his ankles, taking advantage of the uneven distraction of his weight and effectively sweeping him to the floor. He landed on his stomach and was quickly pinned by Wynonna's foot, and she held his head up by his hair. Nicole crouched down and put her face up against his, fuming.

"I suggest you start talking." Her voice was low and controlled, making Nicole all the more frightening from her usually relaxed and cheerful disposition.

The revenant didn't seem phased by this drastic change in her attitude, however. Rather, he began laughing, whispering incoherently to himself as the women watched on. Nicole grew impatient.

"WHAT WAS YOUR MESSAGE?!"

"They know!" he shrieked in laughter. "Everyone knows your little secret, Waverly! And they're coming for you!" The revenant continued to wail in laughter, doubling over on himself as Wynonna dug her heel deeper into his back.

"Who is everyone!?" Wynonna yelled, but he only continued to laugh maniacally. She pressed Peacemaker to his temple. "Who is everyone, dammit!?"

The three women looked between each other as they waited out his cackling for a response.

"You're running out of time!" he provoked, still flashing his rotten teeth. "I would run if I were you!"

That's when Wynonna fired Peacemaker and a ring of fire swallowed him up into the floorboards, killing his erie laugh that would echo in their ears long after he had gone. Collectively, they took a deep breath before Wynonna and Nicole returned their guns to their holsters. 

Waverly started down the stairs first, stopping when she didn't hear footsteps following her. "C'mon," she urged, nodding towards the door.

"Waverly, what the hell was that?"

Waverly drew up a hand as if it quiet her. "I'll explain later," she said, grabbing her coat off the hook and swinging a bag over her shoulder. "We need to get going."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was super short, I know. I'm sorry! Haven't been able to dedicate the time to developing this story as I was hoping to due to life things. If anyone wants me to continue this, I will. Otherwise, it might be a while before I get back to this one again, if I do. We'll see.
> 
> Hope you all are well! Less than a month 'til Season 2!

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone else has theories or recommendations, please let me know in the comments. I hope to get another update out within the week. All depends on how fast I finish these essays I have due. Have a good one:)


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